Posted by Grant on April 30, 2008 – 12:04 pm
Do you remember the first day when you went to kindergarten? You had this feeling that was a mix of “this is going to be awesome” and “I hope I don’t pee my pants!” You probably had the same feeling your first day of middle school and maybe even when you went to high school. And you probably got that feeling when you first got your driver’s license, didn’t you? I remember I had that feeling during all of those moments of life not to mention when I got married and when I became a father.
Because each time we open a new chapter in the stories of our lives, it becomes very difficult to know what is next. Let’s be honest. It is easier to stay in a situation that you are comfortable in than it is to venture out into the unknown. It’s easier to stay on the shore as opposed to jumping in the ocean. There is that fear that you don’t know what’s in the ocean or if you’ll be able to swim or any other number of other hypothetical situations that you can come up with. But if you always stay on the shore, then you’ll never experience the feeling of playing in the ocean. Besides, if you get freaked out, you can always pee in the water. Nobody will know the difference.
The point is this: the first day of anything you’re freaked out and are probably sensing a minor anxiety attack at any moment. But after a while, you kind of figured things out didn’t you? Over the first few weeks, you got the hang of kindergarten and it wasn’t too bad. One of my first weeks, I learned that apparently you’re not supposed to pull out someone’s chair from underneath them when they are getting ready to sit down. Prior to kindergarten, supposedly I didn’t know that. I learned that is frowned upon.
It is all just part of the journey of growing up. And while it may seem simpler and more convenient to sit on the shore for the rest of your life, that’s no way to live. So while it’s fine to be a little nervous about the future, don’t pee your pants too much over it (unless you’re in the ocean). Eventually you’ll figure it out and get the hang of things.
Posted by Grant on April 29, 2008 – 2:29 pm
I passed the half way point on my book today! Right now I’ve got 27 out of 50 chapters done, so I’m a little over 50% finished with just about 24,600 words so far.
I also think I’ve landed on the publishing company I’m going to use so that’s exciting.
I’m currently working on the section that addresses questions students have about money. As I wrote various chapters today, I couldn’t help but think of the number of students who will read this and will hopefully apply the principles that we outline for winning with money. I just hope they remember me when they’re rich and famous.
As I’ve said before, writing this book is one of those big goals for me and it feel incredibly good to have made so much progress. We still have more climbing to go though to get to the top of this mountain. But the view from the top is always that much better when you made the climb yourself.
What big goal have you been putting off and now you’re ready to start the climb?
Posted by Grant on April 29, 2008 – 6:29 am
Filed under Funny, Random
So yesterday I walk out of the garage to get in my car to run an errand and what do I find?
A cobra, a boa constrictor, an anaconda…a really big snake!
So being the beast of a man that I am, I ran screaming into the house for my wife. Of course she is as terrified of snakes as I am, so I’m not really sure what she was going to do?!
I knew I needed to slay this evil monster but I didn’t want to get close to it so I chose my weapon carefully:
My car.
I then proceed to drive back and forth over it at least 25 times before the stupid thing would die! The entire time, my wife was standing at the front window (inside the house!) directing me while my daughter kept saying “sad worm, sad worm!”
I figured most of you wouldn’t believe me so here is what’s left of this hideous creature and the blood bath that was left behind!
Posted by Grant on April 28, 2008 – 8:36 pm
We all live busy, hectic lives with a lot going on. And because of this, our energy tanks get drained pretty quickly don’t they? So let me ask you this…
Who Gives You Life?
Who is it in your world that when you’re around them, they just energize you? When you’re with them, it’s not about work or school or any other major issue but they are just energizing to be around. Who is it that gives you life?
And I guess we can also look at this from the opposite side of the coin.
If we were to ask the people who you come in contact with this same question, how many people would say you?
Posted by Grant on April 27, 2008 – 7:02 am
Over the past 18 months my wife and I have worked extremely diligently on our finances and as a result, we will be debt free except for our house later this summer! We’re extremely excited about that but it has only come as a result of hard work and discipline. So we’ve started planning more for retirement and being proactive in creating a college fund for our kids someday. So with all this in mind, I met the other day with a financial planner for the first time.
And I must say, it was a great experience. But what made it great was that this was someone who was there to simply let me pick his brain and teach me about what I didn’t know with no strings attached. As a financial planner, I’m sure he would make mere pennies on any investment I would send through him. He makes his money with the big boys who have the fat bank accounts and more money than they know what to do with. But it meant a lot to me that he would spend 30 minutes just educating me further so that I will be better prepared in the future.
He didn’t try to sell me anything or charge me for his time. Just free advice and insight. And the ironic thing is that someday when we do have money and are looking for someone to help guide us, guess who I’ll go to? I’ll go to the person who helped me when they received nothing in return.
So in your life, who you are helping, teaching, leading, training that in all honesty, has no immediate return for you?
What are you doing to help others for no other motivation other than you just want to help?
Posted by Grant on April 25, 2008 – 8:32 pm
So tonight I spoke at a retreat for a youth organization in the Kansas City area. The night went well and everybody had a good time. So later in the evening, I’m getting ready to leave and the event host hands me a check for my fee. But as I looked at it, it was nearly 3 times more than what they actually owed me. Thus the moral dilemma…
What’s more important: money or your integrity?
So of course I took the money…
Just kidding! I pointed it out and they cut me a new check (although I liked the first one better!).
So while that is a big and obvious mistake, what would you do if you say someone walking down the street drop a $20 bill? What if the clerk gives you too much change?
How valuable is your integrity to you?
Posted by Grant on April 24, 2008 – 9:35 am
I’ve received some invites to speak at some awesome events in the last few weeks! Here are a few of the new dates I’ve added:
- The FBLA National Fall Leadership Conferences – I’ll be doing the closing keynote at 3 of these conferences in Minneapolis, DC, and New Orleans in November!
- Indiana State Student Council Conference – I’ll be doing the closing keynote at this conference in Richmond, IN in November.
- Five seminars in Louisiana and Texas in September.
- Five seminars in Pennsylvania and West Virginia in August.
Pretty exciting stuff!
If you or anyone you know is looking for a speaker for a youth event, I would love to come hang out with you and your students. I speak at conferences, conventions, camps, retreats, school assemblies, and more. Feel free to shoot me an email at grant@grantbaldwin.com or check out my website at www.GrantBaldwin.com for more info about who I am and what I do.
Posted by Grant on April 24, 2008 – 8:17 am
I’ve started using Twitter recently. It’s a sleek, simple little program that allows you to update people about what you are currently doing. It’s been kind of fun as I’ve been tinkering with it, so I’ll probably try it for a while and see if I see any value in it.
If you’re interested in following what I’m up to, you can go to www.twitter.com/grantbaldwin.
See you there!
Posted by Grant on April 23, 2008 – 1:11 pm
I have to be honest…I really love my life! I have a smokin’ hot wife that I’m really fond of and I’m pretty sure she likes me back (most days). I’ve got an absolutely adorable little daughter that I love to play with. And I get to travel around doing what I love to do.
Life is really good…
What about for you though? Do you enjoy your life?
Sure there are things you might want to change and tweak but overall, do you really enjoy your life?
If not, what would need to change for you to enjoy your life more?
Do you enjoy your life? Why or why not? What do you enjoy most about your life?
Posted by Grant on April 22, 2008 – 8:16 pm
On Sunday mornings, we have this routine where on our way to church, we always stop by this same McDonalds to get my wife a sausage McMuffin. Other than that and their extra large drinks for $.99 (which is a steal!), we don’t eat at McDonalds. Once you’ve seen Supersize Me, you won’t either! But my wife is pregnant and so when it comes to food, whatever sounds good, that’s what we go with!
And so we always go to the same McDonalds and there is always the same guy working the drive thru. And he is always in a bad mood and is never pleasant. I guess I would be cranky too if I worked at McDonalds!
But despite how he acts, we come back each Sunday morning. Why?
Because the level of expectation for a McDonalds is relatively low. There are certain expectations when you go anywhere and so you treat each experience differently. If you go to McDonalds, you’re pleased if the order is correct and you don’t have to wait in line for more than a few minutes. But if they screw up the order or if the drive thru guy isn’t pleasant, it’s not that big of a deal because it’s only McDonalds.
But if you have that same experience at a 5 star restaurant, it may very well ruin your evening out. Why? Because the level of expectation is completely different. The bar is set higher. All of this raises two important points:
- Your expectation helps determine your experience. If you are expecting a miserable experience, you can probably find a way to make the best experience a miserable one.
- What’s the level of expectation that people have when they experience what you do and what you’re a part of? If you’re planning a conference, are they expecting an outstanding experience because they know you do things with excellence or are they expecting to find a half-hearted effort?
Tell us about an experience that really exceeded all your expectations…
